Quinoa and Black Bean Stuffed Peppers

Ingredients

• 4 Red bell pepper, halved lengthwise, seeded
• 1 cup Quinoa (dry), dry, rinsed
• 1 can Black beans, canned no-salt-added, drained and rinsed
• 1 cup Frozen corn
• 1 Yellow onion, diced
• 3 cloves Garlic, minced
• 2 tbsp Extra-virgin olive oil
• 2 tsp Ground cumin
• 2 tsp Chili powder
• 1 tsp Smoked paprika
• 1 cup Salsa
• 3 oz Sharp cheddar, shredded
• 1 Lime
• ⅜ cup Cilantro, chopped
• ½ cup Plain nonfat Greek yogurt (optional)

Method

1. Heat oven to 375°F. Cook quinoa in 2 cups water, 15 minutes, rest 5, fluff.
2. Cook onion in oil 6 minutes; add garlic and all the spices for 45 seconds until fragrant.
3. Stir in beans, corn, salsa and the cooked quinoa. Squeeze in the lime. Taste and adjust — season the filling properly now, because you cannot fix it later.
4. Arrange the pepper halves cut-side up in a baking dish, pack them full, and add a half inch of water to the dish. Cover tightly with foil.
5. Bake covered 30 minutes, uncover, top with cheese, and bake 10 more until the peppers are tender and the cheese browns.
6. Cilantro and a spoon of yogurt on top.

Notes

✨ The restaurant touch

A quick pickle of thinly sliced red onion in lime juice and salt, made when you start cooking, scattered over at the end.

🧒 For the kids

Skip the pepper entirely for a resistant kid and bake their filling in a small ramekin with cheese on top. Same dinner, no negotiation.

🌿 From the garden

Peppers ripen from green to red on the plant in September and the red ones are twice as sweet.

🥡 Leftovers

Freeze stuffed and unbaked. Bake from frozen, covered, 50 minutes.

Per serving

Computed from USDA FoodData Central values. A planning tool, not medical advice.